Brown might attempt coalition government

LONDON - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown indicated Friday that he might attempt to form a coalition government, seeking to keep his Labor Party in power following an election in which the Conservatives were projected to claim the most seats but not get a majority in Parliament.

The exit polls reflected uncertainty over who will form the next government. Britain's top three parties - the Conservatives, led by David Cameron; Labor; and the Liberal Democrats - immediately began jockeying to form alliances.

Speaking in his home district in Scotland, Brown vowed to "play my part in Britain having a strong, stable and principled government" - the clearest sign yet that he would try to cling to power and seek an alliance with the third-place Liberal Democrats. Brown also pledged action on election reform - a key demand of his would-be partners.

Turnout for Thursday's vote appeared to be high, and hundreds of people across the country were prevented from voting when polls closed at 10 p.m. The head of Britain's Electoral Commission said legal challenges to some ballot results were likely from those turned away.

Police had to go to one polling station in east London after 50 angry residents who were denied the chance to vote staged a sit-in protest. Voters in Sheffield, Newcastle and elsewhere in London also complained that they had been blocked from voting.

An analysis by Britain's main television stations suggested the Conservatives will win 305 of the 650 House of Commons seats, short of the 326 seats needed for a majority. Labor was seen winning 255 seats and the Liberal Democrats 61, far less than had been expected after their support surged during the campaign.

If the projections stand, political wrangling and uncertainty is ahead for one of the world's largest economies - a prospect that could unsettle global markets already reeling from the Greek debt crisis and fears of wider debt contagion in Europe.

Before the vote, a somber warning came from the European Union: Britain's budget deficit is set to eclipse even that of Greece next year. Whoever winds up in power faces the daunting challenge of introducing big budget cuts to slash Britain's huge deficit.

Initially, the British pound sank to its lowest point in a year at $1.4715, but later recovered ground, and U.K. government bonds also rallied in the hope that the Conservatives might manage to form a government.

In London, bond trading started in the middle of the night - six hours earlier than normal - as traders tried to capitalize on early forecasts.

Conservative leaders were adamant that the results meant Brown must go - but senior Labor figures lost no time in reaching out to the Liberal Democrats in hopes of blocking Cameron.

Business Secretary Peter Mandelson of Labor noted that in a "hung parliament" - one in which no party has a clear majority - the sitting prime minister is traditionally given the first chance to form a government. He extended an olive branch to the Liberal Democrats, who have called for an end to the existing system in which the number of districts won - not the popular vote - determines who leads the country.

But such a coalition might still not work because the projections showed those two parties combined might still fall short of a majority. The gambit would also risk alienating many in Britain, a country without a constitution where political maneuvers are often governed by informal convention.

The television projections showed the Labor Party with its smallest number of seats since 1987. The Conservatives, known as the Tories, appeared to gain 95 seats, all but one at the expense of Labor.

Theresa May, a senior Conservative Party lawmaker, said Brown had lost "the legitimacy to govern."

"No way this man, who has failed this electoral task, can contemplate forming a government," Conservative Party chairman Eric Pickles said.

The biggest surprise of the night was the poor performance of the upstart Liberal Democrats, whose telegenic leader, Nick Clegg, had shot to prominence on the back of stellar debate performances and had been expected to play the role of kingmaker. Instead of breaking out of perennial third-party status with strong gains, the party was projected to remain about even with earlier results.